February 12, 2007
RE: Public Notice, Pt. McKenzie to Willow Railroad Corridor
Easement ADL 230025, AS 38.05.850
Dear Mr. Shishido,
The Willow Area Community Organization (WACO) approved a
motion in the February general meeting to oppose the
approval of easements over borough land as described in this
public notice.
The proposed corridor from Willow to Pt. Mackenzie
identified in the 2003 Matanuska‐ Susitna Borough Rail
Corridor Study (e.g. Corridor 3) was selected based on an
unrepresentative public involvement process held in Houston
(not Willow), and before it can be addressed in a community
comprehensive plan. Further, two railroad corridors, the
existing line and Corridor 3, by piercing a small community,
will have significantly impact on the community of Willow.
WACO opposes the reservation of railroad easement identified
in the above Public Notice based on the following:
Impacts to Trails and Outdoor Recreation: Willow is widely
known as a year‐around recreational community. A large
portion of our local economy relies on fishing, hunting and
boating in the summer to snow machining and dog mushing in
the winter. Eighty miles of heavily used recreational trails
identified in the Mat‐Su Borough Trails Plan are in or near
the corridor. Many people recreate in two very popular
State recreation areas, Willow Creek and Nancy Lake. They
are there to enjoy the quite and beauty of Alaska. A
railroad will greatly compromise their experience of
reaching out to Alaska’s wild places.
As stated in the Rail Corridor Study ‘‘The project [Corridor
3] would be expected to have some direct impacts on
recreation, especially trail use and limiting access to
recreation sites particularly if mitigation measures such as
below and above ground crossings over trails for example are
not utilized’’. It should be noted that no mitigation
measures have been identified or approved for Corridor 3.
Impacts to residents: Having two railroad lines running
through one small community will have undue hardship on
residents. Many homes will be displaced and dreams
destroyed. Unfortunately, many residents will be disrupted
from two different directions. This ‘‘surround sound’’ for
their homes is not what was intended when they moved here
and will diminish property values and quality of life.
The Public Involvement Process: The public involvement
process upon which Corridor 3 was selected was held in the
town of Houston, at Houston High School. Three public
meetings where held at Houston High School during 2002‐2003.
During which time, several corridors closest to Big Lake and
Houston were effectively eliminated and the selection of
Corridor 3, which impacts only the community Willow was
chosen as a preferred route. Houston High School is
approximately 20 miles from the Willow Community Center and
as far as 50 miles from people who live in North Willow. It
is reasonable to assume that Willow did not have fair
representation during the public process that elected
Corridor 3. WACO requests that the Borough engage in a
representative and fair public process beyond a simple
public notice, before selection of a rail corridor or
reserving any rail road easements on borough property.
Willow will be preparing a comprehensive plan this year. A
fair public process would be for the Willow community to
address transportation in general and the corridor issue in
particular while developing the plan. The acquisition of
corridor easements before completion of the comprehensive
plan is premature and not in our community’s best interests.
Cost: Reserving railroad corridor easements based on the
2003 Matanuska‐Susitna Rail Corridor Study at this time
could be a significant waste of tax dollars. To date the
selection of Corridor 3 is at best only conceptual. Several
state and federal funding and environmental review processes
related to all seven of the potential rail corridors
identified in the Corridor Study are still eligible for
review and selection as a preferred rail corridor.
In addition, Corridor 3 impacts a large amount of wetlands,
has the most bridges including an additional bridge over
Willow Creek, is the longest and, thus, the most costly of
the other corridor options.
The intent WACO’s action to oppose corridor 3 does not mean
the community opposes the railroad line in itself. Rather,
the community feels the Matanuska Susitna Borough is pushing
this corridor despite a flawed public involvement process,
an ignored comprehensive plan process and before adequate
feasibility and environmental review. Therefore, the Willow
Area Community Organization opposes the acquisition of
easements for rail corridor 3 at this time.
Sincerely,
Linda Oxley Chair
